Fmr LLC Sells 1,572 Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM)

Fmr LLC lowered its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,572 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,142.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in MSC Industrial Direct in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the third quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 442.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 35,300.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct

In other news, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSC Industrial Direct Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of MSM stock opened at $81.32 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.41. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.05 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 74.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens downgraded shares of MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSC Industrial Direct has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.20.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies.